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babybarley

this post has been deleted

babybarley
9 years ago
last modified: last year

this post has been deleted

Comments (8)

  • dej142
    9 years ago

    Hi - this looks like a really nice home! I'm new to this board. I'm sure the experts will chime in with better feedback, but here's what I noticed:

    - I would want more room around the dining room table for people to get up and pass by. I'm thinking that looks very cramped for crowded family dinners, esp. if you have a wheelchair pulled up the table.

    - I would consider widening the distance between the counter and island. You have almost 4 feet and my understanding is that's sufficient for design and ADA standards, but I'm living with that distance in my kitchen and I wish I had a bit more room so two people could pass comfortably.

    - I'm thinking with all the family/visitors coming and going, you will really good setup for storing extra linens, bedding, etc. (almost like what I've seen in houses we've rented through VRBO where they just have a whole closet full of that stuff). Will that be in the utility room?

    Good luck! This looks like a place where you'll have lots of family fun!

  • babybarley
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks dej142, you make some great points!

    I agree, the dining room table area looks cramped. I'm thinking I can bump up the clearance on either side of the table to about 5.5 feet (does that sound like enough?). Which means I'd need to steal 3 feet from somewhere else on that floor. I don't think I can shrink the ADA bathroom, and making the master bedroom smaller would extend the hallway into bedroom #2 even more (and make it awkwardly shaped). I think I may have to resort to shortening the cabinet run and island. I'm already concerned about having enough cabinet space, so I'm not looking forward to that. :-/

    In the kitchen I'd like someone to be able to walk by comfortably when the dishwasher is open, but I don't want the aisle to be so wide that it's uncomfortable working in the space. Is there a dishwasher opening into your 48" aisle? How much wider do you wish your aisle were?

    Great point about easy access to linens. I was planning on storing all of that in the laundry room, but the top floor doesn't have any linen storage and it might be easier if the bottom floor had a dedicated closet too. Looks like I could fit a linen closet to the left of the pantry on the top floor, and to the left of the laundry room on the bottom floor (stacked on top of each other).

    The other idea I'm toying with is shuffling the bottom floor layout to put the theater in the current office location, while putting the bedrooms and office in the four corners. That way the bedrooms/office are better shielded from noise and get more light, and it's easier to keep the theater dark. Easier said than done, but I'm hoping it might work!

  • dej142
    9 years ago

    You're welcome!

    To open the dining room up a bit, I think I would shorten the cabinets and island by 2' rather than change the master bedroom. It's not great losing the counter space, but you do have a lot of storage space in the pantry/utility room.

    As far as distance between counter and island, if I had room, I'd like 5' to 5.5'. I have a relative with a 13' long island (real farm kitchen and she needs space for canning, etc.) and she has 5.5' or 6' between her island and counter. When we have our family holiday dinners, it's so nice because two or even three people can cook together easily. In my kitchen with 4', only 2 of us can be in the work zone and you can pass, but if you're carrying a pan or stuff in your hand, you have to be more careful and shift around.

    Will the theater be strictly a theater? If so, I like your idea of switching it with the office. But I think I'd leave it where it is and use it as a second living space that doubles as a theater when the curtains close (and I think with 10 people around and probably some more grandkids arriving in the next few years, you'll want that second living space).

  • dej142
    9 years ago

    By the way, I was thinking more about the space between counter and island. I think the reason I keep thinking you should have more space is because you're not going to have just a regular family situation, you mentioned that you'll have 10 people there at a time. 4' probably is fine for a kitchen without as many people and that's not intended for lots of entertaining.

    Also, there's a kitchen forum on here. You might look there for more guidance on that.

  • babybarley
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you for all of the wonderful suggestions!

    Remember that infant grandchild I mentioned? Well she's mine, and she doesn't believe in sleep, and certainly never more than two hours at a time. :) ÃÂ I spent some time looking at the plans tonight but just can't keep my eyes open anymore. ÃÂ I'm going to take a good look at everything and make revisions, but in the meantime I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here and greatly appreciate the feedback.ÃÂ

    Hoping to make good progress tomorrow while grandma and grandpa take over baby duty!

  • dej142
    9 years ago

    You're welcome! I was hoping some of the experts on the board would join in. I'm guessing you'll get more feedback if you have specific questions about the plan vs. a general request. In any event, looks like you (and your baby!) are off to a good start.

  • babybarley
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I have been fortunate enough to have received several responses in the kitchen forum here:

    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0801094226286.html

    I also posted my progress as of late last night, but wasn't awake enough to realize I should have posted here too. Sorry!

    Here is a link that might be useful: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0801094226286.html

  • babybarley
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you for your patience as I try to carve out time to work on the house in bits and pieces. I reworked the design and incorporated many suggestions. HereâÂÂs how it turned out:



    What changes would you make?

    Many thanks,

    beach_house